177 Universities across Pakistan fail to meet HEC’s Standards

177 Universities In Pakistan fail to meet HEC’s Standards

The Higher Education Commission has found quality assurance a major casualty in 177 universities in Pakistan, uncovering a vast trail of rule violations by them.

Not only did the universities fail to meet the HEC set standards but they also violated their own set yardstick for governance.

Details available with The Express Tribune suggest universities conveniently did not take into account measures like plagiarism policy, getting a non-objection-certificate (NOC) from HEC before starting a new program’e, among others.

HEC’s Quality Assurance Agency swooped on universities and their sub-campuses during the past year and compiled a report that suggests how the institutes were getting away with major decisions and bypassing their legal and official bodies for approval.

Similarly, about 59 varsities have no quality assurance mechanism in affiliated colleges while HEC chief has also vowed that quality check of over 3,000 such institutes in the third phase.

About 47 universities have not approved their respective engineering, medical or other program’s from respective professional councils like Pakistan Engineering Councils etc. Half of the varsities visited had not held meeting of their senate, syndicate or board of governors.

Plagiarism

About 38 professors are blacklisted on HEC’s website but all of them are teaching in their respective varsities. The HEC is now considering devising a law to post pictures of scholars accused of plagiarism. Besides, the commission is also planning to check 10,000 PhD theses for plagiarism.

Foul play

According to the data, about 87 program’s of PhD were shut down including 36 of MPhil in different universities during January 2014 to August 2016. Besides, minor deficiencies were found in about 195 PhD and 21 M-Phil program’s out of 293 doctorate program’s along with 57 in M-Phil in 52 universities.

According to HEC rules, a varsity should have at least two full-time PhD faculty members in a department offering MS/MPhil program’s, and at least three full-time PhD faculty members to launch a PhD programe.

Amendment

The HEC chief recently stated that an amendment to the ordinance was being finalized to give the HEC powers to penalize institutions violating rules. Currently, the HEC does not wield any power to hold violators accountable. The law would penalize plagiarists, institutions not following theirs and HEC’s rules and regulations.